Shattered Innocence (Director's Cut)
by Coleiosis
Summary: Enjoy an edited, remastered edition of the classic tale from the currently-running PlayStation All-Stars series! Ratchet is on the run from the man who killed his mother; Billy Ray Stillwell promises to bring the poor Lombax to his end. What will it really take to bring this demented murderer down? The future is full of mysteries...


PlayStation All-Stars 2

Shattered Innocence

Brought to you by Cole Bezotte, Hudson Bezotte, Vincent Montgomery, and Fernando Jimenez

Introduction

The restoration of a classic tale begins yet again! We now bring you a "remastered" edition of the sequel to the beginning. Not the WAY beginning because, remember it well, it was all in Pupuru's dream. We're talking about the modern series that still runs to this day. Time to give this story the director's cut treatment.

This is the edited, remastered director's cut from February 2020. The original version of this story was written November-December 2014. All edits include spelling/grammar fixes, dialogue rearranging, and altered scenes. Please enjoy!

Chapter One: A New Beginning

Ratchet lied silently in his bed on a windy night. All the trees in suburbs waved back and forth, pushed by the wind's force, but the mansion of the League of Heroes stood completely still. Ratchet could not sleep at all with all that noise outside. Unafraid of the storm as he was, one particular noise startled him. He heard a knock on the front door downstairs, urging him to quickly descend the stairs and answer it.

And so, Ratchet put on his bathrobe and slippers, then crept down the stairs into the living room. He went over to the door and opened it; he was very surprised to see who was there. It was Marcus Kane, standing right in front of him; it was too easy to recognize his face due to the bright wind clouds.

"I have come as promised," Marcus spoke up as he walked inside the house. "I have taken my real form."

"It's incredible…" Ratchet replied. "The mind connection with Pupuru actually changed you."

"Yes, but it wasn't easy." Marcus sat down on a nearby chair, took a deep breath, and began to tell his story. "You may remember battling me when I was the Dark Knight. That big electric shock Pupuru gave me had helped my mind to remember my true identity, as well as the truth Needles tried to hide from me all this time. I had to connect my mind with Pupuru's in order to regain my true form; I wanted her to recognize me as the hero from her dream, other than you. Every time I looked in a mirror, my reflection would always be the form of that horrible clown Needles. Now that I've regained my real form, he is gone for good… or at least I hope he is. Pupuru may be safe now."

"You're telling the truth," Ratchet replied. "We didn't know who you really were at first."

"So how is Pupuru? I hope she is finally relieved of all the trouble."

"I wouldn't say she's fully 'relieved' per se. She now has the flu. Hopefully, she'll get better soon. But now that you're here, I can now accept you into the League of Heroes. Welcome aboard!"

"Thank you, Ratchet," Marcus said, shaking Ratchet's hand.

Meanwhile, upstairs and locked in another room, Captain Qwark lazily sat on his bed and watched many random YouTube videos on his iPad. The laughter did not come yet until he found one particular meme: a male scream of "WHAT THE—" followed by a loud explosion. That's when a somewhat hilarious idea came to his head. He planned to pull a prank on Ratchet the next morning.

And that's just what he did. A while after the sun had risen, Ratchet decided to sleep in that morning. This gave Qwark the perfect opportunity to do the prank he promised himself to do. As Ratchet slept, Qwark snuck into his room and hooked his iPad to the stereo kept upon a shelf. He selected the correct video that contained the meme.

Near Ratchet's bed, Sly Cooper and Jak woke up to see what Qwark was doing. Qwark kept them quiet to watch and see what would happen. "This will certainly wake him from a crazy dream," he whispered to them.

And as for Ratchet, he was indeed dreaming about something crazy. He dreamt he held a pair of scissors in his right hand and a time bomb in his left. It was only a matter of seconds before the bomb would explode, yet he still could not figure out which wire was the correct one to cut. "This doesn't look too good," Ratchet whispered frantically as his eyes looked back and forth between the two wires.

The numbers on the bomb's digital timer were decreasing, and time was running out. It was now or never to defuse the bomb. But the confusion continued to hinder him; soon, the timer had reached its end.

Suddenly, Ratchet heard a beeping noise, followed by a scream.

"WHAT THE—" the voice screamed. It was right away interrupted by an explosion. Qwark had used the meme to wake up Ratchet from his strange dream. As Ratchet's eyes flung open, his head rose straight up and hit the bottom of the bunk beneath him.

"That ought to make you grumpy for the entire day," Qwark teased as he smiled big.

Chapter Two: Junkyard Dog

That same morning, many police cars and army trucks arrived at the fields near the Zorko Bros. Scrap and Salvage junkyard. Agent Shepherd and Commander Mason had brought many soldiers and SWAT agents to inspect what remained after the battle from yesterday.

**(Note from the author: The battle of the League of Heroes against the Gargoyles took place in this location.)**

Shepherd stepped out of his car, the Crimson Fury, and immediately observed the hundreds of Gargoyle corpses scattered along the ground. He dared not to touch any of them due to their rotten bodies. The soldiers gathered around Shepherd and waited for their first order.

"Head straight into the junkyard," he commanded them. "Hunt down and kill every last Gargoyle that lives. Now that their leader is gone for good, they can no longer use the reproduction process again. Go quickly!"

"Yes sir!" one of the agents said as he led the others into the junkyard.

But as Shepherd turned to talk with Mason, someone watched from behind the nearby tool shed. A man with a straight, ugly face, long hair, and chipped teeth crept up from behind. His crooked fingers itched to reach out and strangle any of the two men standing there. First, he backed up a few feet, then he ran with full force and leapt at Shepherd.

"What in blazes?!" Shepherd exclaimed as the man pinned him down to the ground. Mason quickly drew out his pistol and shot the wild man in the head. But the bullet merely grazed his skull due to his constant moving.

"You have easily forgotten…" Mason said as he put his pistol away and handcuffed the man, "…this fellow here is Billy Ray Stillwell. He was the Dark Knight's pet who abandoned the battle after attempting to kill Pupuru."

"We must take him to the asylum," Shepherd replied. "He's one mad dog."

After the entire junkyard was clear of any other dangerous predator, it was now official that the once-mighty race of Gargoyles was finally extinct. The soldiers got back into their trucks and drove straight towards Blackfield Asylum, where Shepherd and Mason imprisoned Billy Ray.

Once they arrived at the asylum, the guards taped Billy's mouth shut to keep him from screaming out like the freak he was. They kept his hands and feet cuffed together so he could not reach out and strangle anyone.

Billy was literally thrown into his cell like a tortured animal. His screams became muffled behind the duct tape on his face. But only one person knew exactly what he desired most of all: revenge.

"So I guess we're in the same boat now…" someone spoke up in the cell next door. It was the former SWAT agent Stone, who wanted the world to see Ratchet as a dangerous being. "I see that bitter hatred in your eyes; that is the hatred for the one alien being I have always hungered to destroy. Surely you remember him as well as I do."

Billy did not say anything at first, but then he angered again. He knew exactly what Stone was talking about. "Ratchet…!" Billy hissed loudly. "HE SHALL PAY! RATCHET!"

But all this was too far away to hear from Ratchet. Back at the mansion of the League of Heroes, he finally returned the favor of Captain Qwark's prank. Qwark received an early Christmas present that he noticed on his desk. He walked over to it and excitedly removed the wrapping paper, neglecting to read the tag attached. The gift was revealed to be a jack-in-the-box. "I hope a statue of me pops out of this," Qwark thought as he turned the winding handle of the box.

After listening to the little tune while turning the handle, something suddenly popped out of the box. It was Sackboy, blowing a noisemaker that reached out all the way to punch Qwark in the face. Sackboy laughed as he hid himself back into the box and closed the lid shut.

"What a way to pay me back," Qwark thought as he rubbed his chin. "He returned the favor with a 'Sack-in-the-box'!"

Meanwhile, down the hall was the room of Pupuru and her two shifter friends Kat and Raven. Pupuru was still very sick, and so she had to stay in bed for a long while until her illness lifted. One could tell there was something terribly wrong with her just by looking at her weary face. Dark shades of purple hung under her eyes as her hair lied on her pillow in a messy bush.

Many of the other members of the League of Heroes had given her many get-well-soon cards, some store-bought, and some hand-made. Some of the heroes thought that she might not make it out alive, but they kept on hoping for the illness to be lifted very soon.

Chapter Three: Revenge

Back at Blackfield Asylum, sanity finally returned to Billy Ray as he calmed himself. Due to his improved behavior, the nearby guards of his cell removed the duct tape from his mouth and freed him from the cuffs that bound his hands and feet. Now, Billy knelt silently in front of the cross-shaped window of his cell as Stone continued to speak to him.

"I hope you still remember how the people of this world had mistreated you," Stone went on. "They always pushed you around like the wild animal you acted like. Just think of the way Ratchet attacked you with that wrench of his; that is like how a hunter slices through a jaguar. Soon, your chance would come for you to punish him."

Billy did not say anything at first, but seconds later he spoke and replied: "They took everything from me… then they put me in this hole. Here, I would stop and think about what I had lost. My freedom, my pride… it's hard to know which one I miss the most. Sometimes when I'm locked up, I swear I hear the alien in the spaceship coming back to get me. But none of it is real… it's just my head going to mush.

"Now I remember when I was a slave of the Dark Knight. He had taken a piece of my mind and twisted it all around. And while I was in that insane state, that alien Ratchet just beat me up senselessly. How can I refuse the chance for revenge? Now I'm itching to get my hands on him… once I spill my secret to him."

"And what is that secret?" Stone asked him.

"Something about his dark past," Billy answered in reply. "I'd love to see his face when I say it to him. He'll go cowardly running like a chicken with his head cut off."

Right then, a nearby prison guard opened Billy's cell door and spoke to him: "Someone's here to see you."

Billy smiled evilly as he opened his eyes. He was ready for the moment to scare Ratchet out of his wits.

The guard led Billy to a dark room lit only by a dim light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The light dangled over a desk with only two chairs placed on the north and south sides. Ratchet sat at the north end, waiting to ask Billy the questions as to why he served the deceased Dark Knight. Billy sat down on the other chair, calm and waiting for Ratchet to start speaking.

And so Ratchet began: "So you're the monster who attacked me and the gang that night? Look at you now! It's hard to believe that you were once a pet of Marcus Kane, the former Dark Knight."

"I already knew his true identity before you did," Billy replied. "He gave me a special mission, one you'd never think was possible. After he emerged from Pupuru's dream, along with me, he sent me on a mission to the far past. We wanted to give this a bad start both for her and for you, so the Dark Knight used the magic of his scepter to send me to the past. I don't know how he obtained that power, but I wouldn't complain for now. He sent me to your home planet Fastoon; once I got there, Emperor Percival Tachyon had already started his assault.

"I saw your father Kaden there; he was outside the council room. He refused to go back in there and save his female partner; he was such a coward thinking only about the 'casualties'. I went in that council room to find only his partner, the scum who brought you into existence. She was already frightened once she saw me; this was my chance. I remember grabbing for the closest thing I could find: a hoe. I'd hunt Kaden down sooner or later; but for now, it was strictly between me and your mother!

"I hit her body so hard, nobody could tell who she was anymore. In the process, I tore up many other Lombaxes nearby. But the Dark Knight brought me back to the present so suddenly, right in the middle of my killing spree. He wouldn't give me the reason as to why, though; but I could tell something else was going on inside his head. Without warning, his army of Gargoyles took me to the junkyard for an unexpected session of torture. I can still feel the sharp whips upon my back; they even dunked me in a giant pot of boiling water. It was the first time in forever I haven't felt such burning and torture. That was what drove me insane, past my limits; it gave me the burning desire to hunt after YOU!

"Now you know the truth I've been keeping from you, Ratchet! Now you know everything! You may try to think that this is all a lie, but it won't work at all! I killed your mother, and so now I pledge to kill you and end your miserable life! That's a promise I swear to you! Don't ever forget it…!"

Ratchet could not bear to hear any more of it. Attempting to keep calm, he closed his eyes, forcing back tears as he heard the door open. The two guards who escorted Billy to the interrogation room took their prisoner back to his cell. Once the coast was clear, Ratchet quickly left the asylum without uttering another word; all he could do was continue to fight back the tears.

Stone overheard everything that happened from his cell. He smiled as he thought: "Good! Once I help Billy escape, he'll be able to finish the job for the both of us. He has already promised to kill Ratchet; I'd like to see him KEEP that promise…"

Later, Ratchet returned to the mansion and headed straight up the stairs to his room. "Ratchet!" Clank said to him. "It's dinner time!"

"Forget it…" Ratchet whimpered. "Just don't bother talking to me…"

"Something is terribly wrong with him," Clank thought as he watched him walk up the stairs slowly. "But I shouldn't bother him about it now. Perhaps tomorrow, he can tell me."

Chapter Four: The Dream of Death

Very early the next morning, as Ratchet struggled so hard to sleep, a dream struck his weary head. He could never stop thinking about the awful truth that Billy had revealed to him. Every second of trying to sleep gave Ratchet only the thought of Billy mauling him down with a hoe. The thought simply could not leave him; it kept replaying itself over and over again.

But the more it replayed itself, the more tortured Ratchet seemed. In fact, the effects showed outside his head as well; everyone watched him twitch and toss around. His screams were as loud as the sounds of the pounding hoe in his heavily-sweating head. He cringed so hard, it seemed like his teeth were about to shatter all over the place.

Sly got out of his bed and called Nathan Drake into the room. "This is starting to look pretty dangerous now," he complained to him. "We've got to do something about this quickly!"

"Is there really nothing to calm him down?" Nathan asked in reply.

"Nothing seems to work. He needs to be at a hospital right now! I fear that he is actually becoming insane!"

And so, Nathan and Sly brought Ratchet to their van and strapped him with all the seatbelts in the backseat to keep him steady. But he became worse as he struggled to break free; so Nathan had to drive to the hospital faster. He figured their chances were better off there than to imprison Ratchet at Blackfield Asylum, where he would be among the more psychotic subjects.

Once Ratchet was brought inside the hospital, he was immediately strapped to the stretcher he was placed upon. After a doctor rushed him to the assigned room, he placed a mask of sleeping gas on Ratchet's face to lull him to sleep quickly. It was the only way to calm him down, but not in his thoughts. The dream only got worse as Ratchet began to actually FEEL the pounding of Billy's hoe on his aching body. Perhaps Billy's wish would become true.

Ratchet also heard all his surroundings outside his dream, either at a loud volume, or only a tiny whisper. He heard the rattling of many medical tools, the ticking of the nearby wall clock, and the conversations between the doctors who examined him.

"I don't know what's going on inside his head," one of the other medics said. "But whatever it is, it's bothering him more than we suspect."

"He seems worse than before," another one said. "If he keeps this up, he'd kill himself of exhaustion! There's nothing we can really do about it!"

"I guess we have no choice… but to give him amnesia!"

Once Ratchet had heard the words that spilled out of the doctor's lips, his eyes yanked themselves open by force. He went completely insane as he forced the mask off his face and tore himself off the cot. He ran out of the room and sprinted down the hall, desperate to escape the removal of his memory.

But once he stepped outside the hospital, he noticed something nasty. He looked ahead of him and noticed a nearby bank ablaze with wild fire. He did not know the cause of it at first, but he looked right next to the chaos and right then received the answer to his question. Billy's truck, Junkyard Dog, was parked near the bank, and so it was obvious who caused the mess. Billy had broken out of the asylum, and he was looking for Ratchet.

"I can't take this anymore!" Ratchet thought as he turned to walk towards the suburbs. "I just CAN'T! I can't live here anymore! It's not safe! I've got to hide, to myself away from the freak who swears to destroy me! I'm sorry I have to do this, but I have to leave…"

Once Ratchet arrived at the mansion, he walked inside to notice a mess of broken glass and fallen branches everywhere. All the lights were out, making everything look gloomy due to the dark clouds outside. Nobody was there, except for Pupuru who slept upstairs in her room. "Everyone must be at a battle or something," Ratchet thought. "That gives me the chance to go get what I need and leave without telling them."

Ratchet walked up the stairs to his room, grabbed a pillowcase, and began to fill it with the very few things he planned to bring with him. He only packed a pocket radio, all his remaining money, and a small cushion.

Before leaving, Ratchet took one last look at Pupuru. She was still asleep, but she looked worse than she did before. Even with all the racket happening in Los Angeles, she could not wake up. "Well…" Ratchet thought as he stared deep into her face, "…take a good look. This is the last time I will ever see that sweet and gentle face of hers. At least Billy will only look for me and not the innocent girl whose life I changed. She wanted her dream to come true, and so it has. But I must leave if she wants to continue to live. Goodbye, Pupuru."

Slowly, Ratchet left the mansion with the things he packed, not even bothering to leave a note or message about his absence. And so, he left Los Angeles and planned to move into a different town where Billy would never find him.

But Billy still swore an oath to kill every last Lombax that still lived in the universe. Ratchet and Angela still lived, and so he would hunt them down and kill them. But he wanted to head straight for Ratchet first and finish what he had done years ago. If it was easy for Billy to kill Ratchet's mother, then it would be easy to kill Ratchet himself the same way.

As Billy sat in his truck Junkyard Dog, he thought to himself: "There's a Lombax out there who decided to flee like the true coward he is. There will be no escape for him this time! I'll find him and I'll kill him! I promise this world I'll bring his life to its end!" And so, he ignited the engine of his truck and drove off, searching for where Ratchet would have hidden.

Chapter Five: The Search

Once the League of Heroes returned to the mansion, they noticed that the place was a complete wreck. Pupuru was still alive, so the others were relieved. But Nathan and Sly received a call from the hospital saying that Ratchet had escaped.

"Where the heck can he be now?" Nathan complained. "It's not like him to run off like that!"

"It has been said that Billy had just escaped prison," Sly replied. "You think Ratchet is trying to hide from him?"

"That may be so. And if there's a search party involved, I want to be part of it! Go summon Bentley and Murray and bring them down here. You three can hunt that Lombax down like you would usually hunt a treasure."

"Except this isn't a 'search-and-destroy' mission," Raiden teased.

"I'd rather call this 'search-and-rescue'. Let's get to it!"

Meanwhile, Ratchet had walked for so long until he finally reached a sign that read: "LOS ANGELES CITY LIMITS". He was now so far away from the city; he had arrived at a small town with only a pizzeria, a bowling alley, and a movie theater.

Before he could think of other options, he suddenly felt a few drops of rain land on his head. As the rain came in more furiously, he ran quickly into the town. He decided to go hide behind the Mega Flix theater; he figured his chances were better off there than to be easily spotted in an open place.

The big roof of the building provided Ratchet with a shade to protect him from the rain. He lied down on the ground and pulled out his pocket radio, eager to hear if Billy was nearby. Here is what played on the radio:

"Welcome back to WMIT! I'm T.J. Fixman, and I have with me here David Jaffe. So David, it's been recently reported that Ratchet had suddenly disappeared from Los Angeles. Do you have any clue about what Ratchet could be up to right now? He seemed really distraught the last time we saw him in L.A."

"I have no idea, T.J.; I'm not a psychologist to know what's going on inside his head. But I guess if living in a city like this can be overwhelming, especially when there's a murderer on the loose, then that's a 'big' problem for him. But like I mentioned earlier, it would take a real psychologist to analyze what's really going on in that crazy f-! #$% mind of his."

"Why did you just curse on public radio? We play holiday music every December for the kids, and yet you're dropping some very foul words..."

That was all Ratchet wanted to hear before he turned the radio off. The subject being discussed had gone way out of hand, and so he couldn't stand to hear it anymore. He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep on the small cushion he brought with him. He used the pillowcase as a sleeping bag as he snuggled himself in the most comfortable position possible. The rain did not distract him or bother him from his sleep; he passed out very quickly, hoping that Billy had not found him yet.

Meanwhile, Sly sat in the driver's seat of his van, searching the scanners of his secret computer, locating where Ratchet may have hid. Bentley the turtle and Murray the hippo sat in the storage compartment of the van, searching THEIR computers as well. Nothing was detected yet, that is until Bentley finally exclaimed: "Sly! Look what I found!"

Sly climbed to the storage compartment and looked over at Bentley's computer. "The scanners here have detected the possible presence of a Lombax! He can't be very far."

"Hand me your computer," Sly replied. Bentley gave him his computer so he can take it with him to the driver's seat. "We'll have to move faster," Sly continued. "Murray, follow these readings; see if you can drive towards where he is located."

Murray climbed into the driver's seat, turned on the engine of the van, and drove off, searching for where Ratchet had stopped his journey… for now.

Back at the theater, Ratchet tossed and turned again. Another dream had struck his head, but it was much more unpleasant than ever.

He dreamed that Billy had won a Twisted Metal contest held by William Sparks, also known as Calypso. Somehow, Ratchet was able to read what Billy was thinking inside his head: "I had won the contest. Now it was MY turn to collect. I went to Calypso and demanded my prize; and just as promised, he delivered the goods. I knew right from the start, he'd get me the revenge I was craving. When we got back to the farm, Calypso told me he had a little surprise for me…"

Ratchet was chained to two poles, where he was held as a captive. His mouth was sealed with duct tape so he could not speak or cry out. Right in front of him, a plane was parked, but its engine was already running with the giant propeller spinning.

The plane's engine roared very loudly, Ratchet hardly heard a thing. But he was able to hear something very threatening. Calypso advised Billy to climb into the plane and drive straight forward. "All you need to do to get your prize is step aboard," Calypso said.

Billy hopped into the plane and began to drive right towards Ratchet. The closer he got, the more scared Ratchet was. But then, right when it seemed like the end, the plane suddenly stopped. Its lights were still on, but it was simply standing right in front of him.

That's when the scenery changed; Ratchet was back at the theater's rear entrance. But a vehicle was still parked right in front of him; it was not a plane but a car. Ratchet had woken up from his horrible dream, and someone had finally found him.

Someone stepped out of the car and walked towards him. It was a tall man with short grey hair and a goatee. He wore square glasses, along with the attire of an FBI agent—a black suit and tie. "What are you doing here?" the man spoke up. "This isn't a campground."

Ratchet rubbed his eyes and stood up. His heart leapt when he saw the suit and FBI badge. "Please don't take me," he whimpered.

"I'm not here to arrest you," the man replied. "I'm here to stop a robbery that's taking place here. Two kids had broken into this theater, but now that they know I'm here, they're trapped in there. The name's Nick Ivo by the way. I'm a father of two and an FBI agent of Midtown."

"This is Midtown? How far am I from Los Angeles?"

"You're a long way from Black Vista Highway, I'll tell you that. But if I were you, I'd go back. You didn't do anything wrong, Ratchet. I know there's a man hunting after you, but now is not the time to ditch courage. Why won't you stand up to him?"

"I know what you mean, but that man scares me. He tore my life apart by killing my mother. If that had never happened, she would still be alive today."

"I've had a dark past myself, Ratchet. But I forget about it and move on. I think of what I am to do first before taking action too soon—you probably recognize it better as the phrase 'think before you leap'. You have to do it a certain way without getting too physical. Why don't you help me capture these two thieves? That might help you feel better."

Ratchet agreed to go inside the theater and help Nick arrest the two burglars, and it was a success.

Chapter Six: The Chase

Finally, after many hours of driving, Billy had caught up to where Ratchet had hidden. He parked his truck in the parking lot of the nearby Happy Vito's pizzeria and looked out his window. He saw Nick start the engine of his car, which meant his golden opportunity to shoot Ratchet was upon him.

Billy smiled wickedly as he stepped out of his truck, his shotgun in his hands, and crept around the theater. At the east side of the building, he raised his gun and aimed carefully at Ratchet. He squeezed the trigger anxiously, but no bullets shot out. Enraged, he ran back to his truck to refill his gun with the ammunition he brought with him.

But Ratchet heard the shotgun's click, and so he knew Billy had finally caught up with him. At first, he did not believe it; but when he looked out at the pizzeria's parking lot, he saw Billy's truck. That was evidence enough to tell him that Billy had arrived, and so he made a run for it. He ran out from behind the theater and sprinted down the streets.

Billy had refilled his gun, and so he was ready to shoot at Ratchet again. He aimed at where Ratchet ran, near the bowling alley, and fired. Ratchet's reflexes made him miss, and so he attempted to shoot again, but he kept on missing. "He's faster than I thought!" Billy thought. "I've got to get him fully in the head!"

Ratchet tried to force himself in the bowling alley, but the doors were locked. There were plenty of windows to smash so he can climb in; but if he dared do that, it would trigger the alarm, and the police would come after him. Ratchet looked everywhere for a safe place to hide; the only thing he could find was a manhole in the street left uncovered. Someone had opened the lid for the manhole and forgot to place it back; this led deep down into the sewers. It may have been a very unpleasant experience to dive into a pool of filthy water, but Ratchet was relieved to be hiding ANYWHERE.

Ratchet landed into the sewage below, but it was not over… not until he knew he was safe. Billy had watched his every move, so he knew exactly where he was. Billy came down into the sewers, with his shotgun in one hand and his hoe in the other. He was more than angry at Ratchet; now was his chance to kill him and end the family line.

Ratchet saw Billy come down and made a run for it, but it was very difficult to run through the mucky sewage. He had no idea where to go at first, but he then had an idea. He turned to see what Billy planned to do.

"Perfect!" Billy thought. "Now that he's in position, I can hurl my hoe at him!" He threw his hoe like a boomerang at Ratchet, but Ratchet caught it before it could hit him. Ratchet then threw the hoe back at Billy, the flat end hitting him on the head.

As Billy fell down, Ratchet saw this as his chance to take the turn that led to the east hall of the sewer. "Now that he's out cold…" Ratchet thought as he ran, "…I can return to the theater, grab my things, and head back home. I'm sure everyone misses me; I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help!"

Meanwhile, Sly and his gang had finally reached the city limits that Ratchet had stopped at. "Look!" Bentley exclaimed as he pointed a "super-scanner" down on the ground. "His footprints!"

"He was here alright," Sly replied. "And he's definitely involved in another chase nearby, there's Billy's truck!" He then picked up his miniature communicator to contact Nathan. "Nathan, we found his footprints. We now know where he is."

"You must not lose him," Nathan replied over the com-link. "I'll drive into Midtown through the other way. If you see him, immediately go to him. I'll make sure Billy doesn't get to him first."

Back in the sewers, Ratchet still ran through the halls, trying to get himself out of Billy's sight. But, at some point, he stopped at one four-way area to catch his breath. He breathed heavily due to the mixture of fear and exhaustion that quickened the pace of his heart.

"I've got to pull myself together," Ratchet thought. "I've got to be brave! I'll just find a way out of these sewers, grab my things, then head down back to the mansion. But if Billy finds me first, I'll stand and fight him, even if it will cost me my life."

Ratchet turned and went down the same path he took earlier, hoping to find the hole in which he entered the sewers. But someone had already beat him to it; Billy had caught him again and began to fire at him. Ratchet's swift maneuvers made him duck into the sewage and dodge the bullets being repelled at him.

Billy at first stood at a far distance, but now was his chance to use his hoe. He ran towards Ratchet and raised his hoe up, ready to swing it back down and maul him. But Ratchet was quick enough to wrap his tail around Billy's leg and trip him down. He got back up out of the sewage and climbed up the ladder through the manhole and back onto the surface.

Ratchet suddenly saw Sly's van parked at the theater; he felt relieved knowing that help had finally come. "Sly!" he exclaimed. "Over here! Sly!"

Back down in the sewers, Billy looked up and saw what was going on. He heard Ratchet shout Sly's name, and so it indicated to him that help was there. "He wants me to follow him and get trapped by his buddies," Billy thought. "I have a better idea!"

Meanwhile, Bentley and Murray had found Ratchet's cushion and radio behind the theater. "Ratchet can't be too far away now," Sly said as he examined Ratchet's dirty footprints on the pavement. "I know he's near."

"Hold the phone!" Murray interrupted. "Do you hear that? Someone's calling for you!"

"I can hear it now!" Sly replied. "It's Ratchet! We've found him!" Sly turned around the corner and saw Ratchet standing in the middle of the street. Ratchet looked very distraught and dirty from all he went through in the sewers.

"Sly!" Ratchet continued to shout. "Get my things and drive your van over to me! Billy is down there, we can finish him!"

"Don't stand there!" Sly replied. "It's a trap!"

Ratchet turned around and noticed someone moving in the darkened pizzeria. The figure of a tall man stood completely still, as Ratchet's heart began to pound heavily, intimidated by the motionless figure.

The click of a shotgun was heard, then a loud bang. A bullet from Billy's shotgun broke through the glass doors and shot into Ratchet's head. Ratchet fell down onto the hard, broken street; his head began to ooze out dark red blood, staining his black and swollen eye.

In the distance, Ratchet heard a faint "NO!" from Sly. His eyes closed slowly as he heard the sound of soft footsteps coming towards him. That was all he could hear before he blacked out.

Chapter Seven: Redemption

Ratchet thought he was dead, but he was only out for about ten minutes. And when he woke up, he found himself back in the sewers. This time, he was on a cot, and with a special breathing mask on his face. He at first did not know who could have moved him here; but when he looked around the entire room, he suddenly found someone standing right behind him. He noticed a familiar-looking girl with blond hair tied up in a ponytail on the right side of her head.

"Pupuru!" Ratchet exclaimed. "You're alright! How did you—?"

"On the contrary…" Pupuru interrupted. "…I want to see if YOU'RE alright. And don't take that mask off yet; you still need proper breathing."

"It's really nice to see that you're all better! Everyone else thought you wouldn't make it if that fever didn't lift!"

"It wasn't very easy. Sasha helped me with all that she can, and it really paid off. But I have to hand it to Kat and Raven for finishing it up for me; they used their gravitational powers to throw the fever out of my head. I was able to wake up without any headaches, and yet I had a hard time breathing at first. The first thought that struck my mind was YOU; I knew that there was something wrong, and I wanted to help you. I begged Sasha to take me here, and it was very nice of her to go through all that trouble to drive me here to Midtown. We even brought the car Spectre with us. You can use it to fight Billy and end what he's planning."

"That's really nice of you to do that, Pupuru. You just saved my life; you revived right when it felt like the end for me. How can I thank you?"

"All you can do is get back at Billy for me."

"You're right! I'll get that creep for what he did to my mother!"

"I didn't mean that, Ratchet! I don't mean for you to have revenge!"

"But he started this! He disgraced my race and made me look like a freak! I'll never forgive him for what he's done!"

"You don't understand! Revenge was never something you taught me. You've always wanted to be a hero your whole life, and now you want to senselessly kill people?!"

Ratchet sighed, then sat up to take off the mask. "Pupuru…" he calmly said, "…I'm very sorry. More than once was I actually nervous about landing on this earth; the human race can be hostile in many ways. But I came here to help you when you thought it was over. I wanted your dream to come true in the best way possible. And, after what I've been through lately, I thought it was the end for me. But that's when YOU came in to return the favor and save ME. Together as heroes, we can do anything."

"We're more than just heroes, Ratchet," Pupuru replied. "We're a FAMILY."

Ratchet's heart leaped after hearing what Pupuru had said. After losing his dear family years ago, he had formed a new one in which he thought it was only for Pupuru's sake. But Pupuru had just pointed out to him that this family was strong and can defend itself, every single member standing strong and courageous. Ratchet had now learned what he had never heard.

After that, Ratchet and Pupuru went back up to the surface where everyone was waiting. Nathan had finally caught up with Sly and the others, and Sasha brought the sports car Spectre with her and Pupuru. The gang loaded the vehicle with the missiles needed for the battle and attached a machine gun on the left-hand side.

Ratchet ignited the engine and drove to the pizzeria's parking lot, where he came face-to-face with Billy and his truck. The great battle was about to begin.

"What does it take kill you?!" Billy spoke up, enraged.

"Much more than what you've already done," Ratchet replied. "I'll make sure I never see another dead body again! This will be the last time you mess with my family!"

"Are you seriously calling those wimpy friends of yours a FAMILY?!"

"We always watch each other's backs. Together, we are unstoppable!"

"You're such a baby, you coward! I'm just eager to get my hands on you and retrieve my prize of the biggest game of wild animal!"

"Call me what you will, but you won't stand a chance against a hero! I swear with my heart to protect this planet!"

"Hey! In a place like this, who knows what kind of trouble a redneck like me can get into?"

"Bring it!"

Chapter Eight: High Octane

And so, the battle began!

Ratchet backed his car away in order for Billy to be in range with the special Ghost Missiles he planned to fire. But Billy was too fast for him; he right away launched a homing missile at him, damaging the front hood. The engine inside Ratchet's car could now be seen; Ratchet thought that it would be an idea to drive away and perform another plan of attack.

Billy tried to chase Ratchet down the street, but his car was not as fast as Ratchet's. He quickly activated his set of "swarmer missiles" and locked them onto Ratchet's car. He right away fired them at his opponent, and it caused major damage to the rear trunk. It almost fell completely apart, but Ratchet's engine still worked perfectly.

But Billy's attack backfired; he noticed that Ratchet's trunk was loaded with some mines that he planned to drop on the ground sometime. A few of them slid out of the trunk and dropped to the street; Billy tried to stop in time, but his truck was too slow. He ended up running over the mines; the explosion completely flipped his truck forward. It landed back on all four wheels as Billy continued to pursue his nemesis.

"I've got to tire him out," Ratchet thought. "Perhaps I'll have him chase me on a higher level." He looked ahead of himself and noticed the front of the theater. "I really don't want to go in there and damage the place," he continued to think. "But it's a chance worth taking! After all, I can help repair everything once this battle is over."

Ratchet crashed through the glass doors of the theater, drove past the ticket stand and the concession stand, and drove into one of the screening rooms. He took a very sharp turn to the left, then drove upward, crashing through the many rows of seats. He even broke through the viewing room, and crashed through the wall to reach the rooftop of the building. Ratchet looked back to see if Billy had followed him; and sure enough, he did. Billy came charging up to him at top speed.

"Your life ends here, Ratchet!" Billy exclaimed as he crashed his truck into Ratchet's. "I'll make sure I get the one thing my heart desires!"

Billy backed away a few feet while shooting at Ratchet's car with his machine gun. Ratchet's windshield began to crack with all the bullets being shot at it, he could not see very well. Billy's distraction worked well; now was his chance to use his "special weapon". Quickly, he flung the wrecking ball from the back of his truck and made it hurl towards Ratchet. The wrecking ball landed on the top of Ratchet's car; the car tipped over upside down, now just a complete wreck.

Ratchet was stuck inside his car; he could not get out through any of the windows. All the doors were squashed and out of shape; he could not break himself out, and Billy was about to come closer. Desperately, Ratchet fired all his Ghost Missiles at Billy's truck. They hit the truck with pinpoint accuracy and wrecked the entire vehicle. But it was not the end for Billy yet; he hung onto the edge of the rooftop, about to fall down below. All the oil was leaking out of the truck and spreading around Billy's arms, making it very difficult to hang on. Enough slips would make him fall right off the building.

Suddenly, a familiar-looking Omniwrench was tossed at him; Nathan had brought it along with him on his journey. "Thanks!" Ratchet said as he used the wrench to pry open one of the crooked doors. "I had a hunch you guys wouldn't fail me!"

Ratchet climbed out his car and walked towards the struggling Billy. He looked down at him and noticed something different about his expression; Billy was no longer angry but afraid. A desperate look convinced Ratchet that he was asking for forgiveness. "RATCHET!" Billy exclaimed. "HELP ME!"

"I'm sorry..." Ratchet replied. "But you killed my mother! I'm letting this be a lesson to you."

"You don't understand! I was FORCED to kill your mother! The Dark Knight forced me to create that dark past for you! I was completely insane!"

"But you still want to kill me! That doesn't make anything any better!"

"I could have done anything for you! I could have done anything that can bring me back to the dream, so I can be back on my farm with my wife! I want to be happy again!"

"I'm sorry, Billy. The dream is far past. It's all over."

"Ratchet! You can't just leave me here to die! No!" But it was too late for Billy to say any more. The oil caused his arms to slip off the edge of the rooftop and fall down to the street below. "RATCHET!" Billy screamed as he fell.

Ratchet watched in shock as Billy fell and landed on the hard pavement. That would have killed anybody, as it had done to the psychopathic killer. Billy was almost dead, his blood spilling onto the street he lied upon. He looked up and saw that his truck was falling right towards him. The truck finished him, landing on his body completely.

Ratchet climbed back down to where Billy died; he pushed the truck over and saw a tremendous change in Billy's face. Billy no longer bore an ugly and threatening face; this was the face of a handsome, generous, and big-hearted farmer. This was his real face!

Ratchet's throat tingled as a tear fell from his eye. Guilt suddenly fell over him; he would never forgive himself for what he had done. He let a once-passionate man die from his own truck. He began to think: "There's just so much we don't know. Yet again, I let the past get the best of me. I preferred my emotions over logic and reason. I guess I still have a lot to learn."

**THE END!**

Notes and References:

Marcus Kane's arrival at the League of Heroes mansion was supposed to happen in the previous story. This took place right after he turned from the Dark Knight to his true form of Marcus.

The YouTube meme Captain Qwark found is actually a real meme.

Because the exact identity of the killer who murdered Ratchet's mother is never revealed in the Ratchet & Clank games, I decided to state it here and now. Let's say that Marcus Kane (in his Dark Knight form) sent Billy Ray to the past to kill Ratchet's mother. Now it's revealed… by me!

I brought back the radio station with the funny name WMIT (**W**hat **M**adness **I**s **T**his), along with the two newscasters. David Jaffe was already one of them; he is the co-creator of the Twisted Metal franchise. I did not yet create the second guy from the previous story; I originally wanted him to be Scott Campbell, Twisted Metal's creative director. But I then changed it to T.J. Fixman, who owns the Ratchet & Clank franchise.

Nick Ivo is actually a character my older brother Forrest created in 2011.

The two kids who robbed the theater may have been Mike and Dave, the drivers of Hammerhead in the original Twisted Metal.


End file.
